4.205 Forehead
- ᴱQ. kandóla n. “crown of head”
- A word appearing as ᴱQ. kandóla “crown of head” in a list of body-parts from the 1920s, an elaboration of ᴱQ. nóla which likewise could mean “crown of head” (PE14/117), but elsewhere generally meant “head” or “hill” (QL/67). The initial element of candóla is probably from ᴱ√KASA “head”.
Neo-Quenya: As the basic elements continued to appear in later versions of Quenya, I would retain this word as ᴺQ. candóla “crown of head” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, with kas-ndōlā > candóla, because sn > zn > nn after which the long cluster nnd reduced to nd.
- ᴱQ. timbare n. “forehead”
- A word appearing as ᴱQ. timbare “forehead” in a list of body-parts from the 1920s (PE14/117). Its etymology is unclear.
Neo-Quenya: As there are no other later roots *√TIM and no later words for “forehead”, I’d retain ᴺQ. timbarë as “forehead” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.
4.206 Eyebrow
- Q. estirnë n. “brow”
- This word is attested only in the name Elestirnë “Star-brow” (UT/184), and is probably related to the primitive word ✶stīrē “face” (VT41/10). From the name alone, it is difficult to discern what the independent word for “brow” would be. In Quenya, an initial primitive ✶[st-] first reduced to [θ-] and then later to [s-], as in sundo < ᴹ√STUD (Ety/SUD) and selma < √STEL (WJ/319). Thus, *sirnë “brow” < *þirne < *✶stirnē is a possibility.
A primitive initial ✶[st] could be preserved, however, if there was some kind of vocal augmentation, as in estel < √STEL (WJ/318) and astalda < √STAL (PE17/115). Therefore, it is possible that *estirnë is the independent form of the word, exactly as it appears within Elestirnë. Usually, though, such vocal augments are the same as the root’s base-vowel (as in the above examples), so *istirnë would be a more typical form.
Absent further evidence, this entry uses *estirnë for the form of this word, as it appears within the name.
4.207 Jaw
- Q. anca n. “jaws; [ᴹQ.] jaw, row of teeth”
- A noun for “jaws” appearing in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E as the name for tengwar #15 (f). ᴹQ. anca was first introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the glosses “jaw, row of teeth” and derived from primitive ᴹ✶ankā under the root ᴹ√(A)NAK “bite” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK).
Conceptual Development: In tengwar charts and other earlier documents from the 1930s up through the early 1950s, anca was in competition with an earlier word anta “jaw” < ✶amtā (earlier ᴱ✶ṃtā) based on the root √MAT “eat” (PE22/22, 51; PE18/85 note #72), but Tolkien ultimately settled on anca. Another early word that might be a precursor to anca is ᴱQ. kâ, cognate to G. gag “jaw” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/37).
- ᴹQ. nangwa n. “jaw”
- A noun for “jaw” The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakma under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (Ety/NAK). It was possibly displaced by anca “jaw, jaws”, which was also introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but continued to appear in later documents included The Lord of the Rings Appendix E (LotR/1123). However, it might be that nangwa refers to a single “jaw” (upper or lower), while anca refers collectively to both “jaws”.
- N. anc n. “jaw, row of teeth”
- A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “jaw, row of teeth” derived from the root ᴹ√(A)NAK “bite” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK). The continued appearance of words like Anfauglir “Jaws of Thirst” (S/180) and its Quenya cognate Q. anca (LotR/1123) indicate its ongoing validity.
Conceptual Development: G. gag “jaw” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/37) might be a conceptual precursor.
- S. carach n. “jaws, rows of teeth”
- A noun for “jaws, rows of teeth” (RC/607) appearing as an element in the name Carach Angren “Iron Jaws” (LotR/920), likely derived from the root √KARAK and probably a cognate to Q. caraxë.
Conceptual Development: N. Carach Angren was already translated “Jaws of Iron” when it first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (SD/33).
- N. naew n. “jaw”
- A noun for “jaw” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakma (*“bite-thing”) under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (NAK). This word remains phonologically plausible in Sindarin, with ancient k vocalizing to i and the resulting diphthong ai become ae, after which the m became v > w; see VT42/26 for a description of the basic phonetic changes. However, naew might have been displaced conceptually by anc “jaw”, which appeared in a number of later Sindarin names and whose Quenya cognate Q. anca appeared in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E.
4.208 Cheek
- N. crann adj. and n. “ruddy (of face); blush, the cheeks, ⚠️face”
- A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “ruddy (of face)” derived from primitive {ᴹ✶k’randā >>} ᴹ✶k’rannā under the root ᴹ√KARAN “red” (Ety/KARÁN; EtyAC/KARÁN). Tolkien said it could also be used as a noun meaning “face, blush, the cheeks”, much like Old English rudu (Ety/KARÁN). In this document, it was an element in the name N. Cranthir “Ruddy-face”, which in later writings became Caranthir “Red Face” (MR/128; PM/353; VT41/10). However, I think crann remains viable as a Neo-Sindarin adjective and noun; as a noun I’d use it primarily to refer to the cheeks, using thîr for the face as a whole.
4.209 Chin
- ᴱQ. venta n. “chin”
- A noun appearing as ᴱQ. venta “chin” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√VETE (QL/101).
Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. venta “chin” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but reconceived as a derivative of a Neo-Root ᴺ√BENET, an elaboration of ᴹ√BEN “angle”.
- G. beg n. “chin”
- A noun appearing as G. beg “chin” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, along with a more elaborate form G. bectha “tip; chin” and (deleted) G. begl “beard” (GL/22). Tolkien connected the word G. beg “chin” to ᴱQ. pē “mouth” (GL/22) and not to ᴱQ. venta “chin” from contemporaneous the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√VETE (QL/101).
Neo-Quenya: It is hard to reconcile either beg or bectha with primitive forms from later iterations of the languages, so I’d instead coin a neologism ᴺS. bened “chin” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, cognate of ᴺQ. venta “chin” and derived from a Neo-Root ᴺ√BENET based on ᴹ√BEN “angle”.